VFCO / GÀBOR TAKÀCS-NAGY / MAO FUJITA
A Slavic-inspired program conducted by the Hungarian maestro Gábor Takács-Nagy, featuring Dvořák’s celebrated New World Symphony — a landmark work that so vividly evokes the discovery of America in its time. Before that, Mao Fujita will perform the orchestral version of Mozart’s Variations on “Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman”. A guaranteed moment of tenderness!
Programme
ZOLTÁN KODÁLY (1882-1967)
Dances of Galánta
ERNST VON DOHNÁNYI (1877-1960)
Variations for Piano and Orchestra on “Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman” Op. 25
Interval
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK (1841-1904)
Symphony No. 9 in E minor Op. 95 “From the New World”
Artist(s)
- Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra
- Gábor Takács-Nagy conductor
- Mao Fujita piano
Mao Fujita plays Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22: III. Presto
In composing the New World Symphony, Dvořák blended typically Czech elements of his musical language into a more universal discourse with heroic accents, even quoting a song from the Americas. The result is a turbulent and tragic work, marked by the influence of his friend Johannes Brahms.
The energy that animates Kodály’s Dances of Galánta is quite different. Inspired by the gypsy music of the village of Galánta, renowned for its strong musical tradition, the work reminds us how much Eastern European music was influenced by its exchanges with the countries of the East: the entire Ottoman Empire emerges from this lascivious clarinet solo and these languid pentatonic scales. Von Dohnanyi’s rare but delightful variations for piano and orchestra complete a programme that conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy, himself an heir to this Czech musical tradition, will mark with all his eminence.